ARCHETYPES

Archetypes are universal symbols, motifs or themes that may be found among many different cultures. They recur in the myths of people worldwide.

These symbols carry the same or very similar meanings for a large portion, if not all, of mankind . . . certain symbols, such as the sky father and earth mother, light, blood, up-down, and others recur again and again in cultures so remote from one another in space and time that there is no likelihood of any historical influence and causal connection among them (Guerin 15).

WATER

•birth-death-resurrection •creation•purification and redemption•fertility and growth

SEA/OCEAN

•the mother of all life •spiritual mystery•death and/or rebirth•timelessness and eternity

RIVERS

•death and rebirth (baptism)•the flowing of time into eternity•transitional phases of the life cycle

SUN

•creative energy•thinking, enlightenment, wisdom, spiritual vision

RISING SUN

•birth, creation, enlightenment

SETTING SUN

•death

RED

•blood, sacrifice, passion•disorder

GREEN

•growth, hope, fertility

BLUE

•highly positive•secure•tranquil•spiritual purity

BLACK

•darkness, chaos, mystery, the unknown•death•wisdom•evil•melancholy

WHITE

•light, purity, innocence,

• death, terror, supernatural

• light, purity, innocence, timelessness

YELLOW

•enlightenment, wisdom

SERPENT

• symbol of energy and pure force (libido)

• evil, corruption, sensuality, destruction

3

• light, spiritual awareness, unity (the Holy Trinity)

• male force

4

• associated with the circle, life cycle, four seasons

• female force

7

• the most potent of all symbolic numbers, signifying the union of three and four

• the completion of a cycle • perfect order• religious symbol

7

•7 days of the week•7 Deadly Sins/7 Virtues•7 Heavens of Judaism, Islam, Hinduism•Lucky Number 7

12

•Product of 3 and 4•12 months•12 Olympian gods•12 Apostles•12 hours on clock•12 Apostles

WISE OLD MAN

• savior, redeemer, guru

• representing knowledge, reflection, insight, wisdom, intuition, and morality

GARDEN

•paradise, innocence, unspoiled beauty

TREE

•denotes life of the cosmos •growth•proliferation•symbol of immortality•phallic symbol

DESERT

•spiritual aridity•death•hopelessness

CREATION

• Almost all cultures believe the Cosmos was brought into existence by some Supernatural Being (or Beings)

SPRING

•Rebirth, childhood

SUMMER

• Life, growth, young adulthood

FALL

•death/dying, adulthood

WINTER

•without life/death, old age

FREUD'S SYMBOLISM/ARCHETYPES

• Concave images (ponds, flowers, cups, vases, hollows)

• female or womb symbols (yonic)

FREUD'S SYMBOLISM/ARCHETYPES

• Phallic symbols (towers, mountain peaks, snakes, knives, swords, etc.)

• male symbols